please fictional games, you have done such an awesome job, dont care about the critics and that they say your game is too shor! IT ISN`T! Its perfect! It so good, that i havend been able to finish it, because of fear!
I`m so much looking foreward to your next game, so i want to tell you the two things that you could have done better.
1. If you make a game in a castle again, please include a garden lvl! Maybe, at first the garden is green and beautiful, the first time you visit it, but it bekommes darker and darker every time you visit it again.
2. I dont like the way, haow the castle changes. I think, the meat and the whole stuff doesn`t fit perfectly in the game. In my opinion, it would have been better, to make things like pictures, that change with the time, inventury that changing place or more and more blood coming from nowhere. For instance you visite a room and everything is normal. There is picture of loughing man and some bookcases are standing in front of the walls. Next time you visit the room, the man seems angry, and the bookcases have changed their position. Third time you visit it, blod is runing out of the mans mouth and his eyes are following you, some books are out of the bookcases and blood is coming from walls and bookcases. Such a change would be great!
Really looking foreward to your next game, that i will buy for sure!
Greedings ben
from austria.
(Sry for my bad english)

In my opinion, it's a great game. But the main problem you might have had with sales before this, is that the game was waaaaayyyy too scary. Scary is good and all, but since you guys aren't bigtime devs yet, it may have been a bad choice, since there was probably a small demographic when you came out with this.
Just a thought.

(11-25-2010 01:48 PM)Schwarzstrom Wrote: In my opinion, it's a great game. But the main problem you might have had with sales before this, is that the game was waaaaayyyy too scary.

I guess that was the intention, and as far as I'm concerned, it wouldn't be so special if it wasn't. I believe the sales problem is due to no more than the sole fact that their name wasn't that big yet, and their advertising possibilities being limited. Tho I may be wrong. There are surely many people who didn't play the game because it is too scary, but these same people are the ones who actualy don't fancy games that are scarier than L4D2, which has a practicaly null scary factor.

Personaly I wouldn't be so surprised at FG if their games weren't as scary as they are, and I admire their kudos for doing them that way. They shown more courage than most of the AAA industry has been showing ever since 1999, and they will surely have their deserved reward one of these days.

Digging through the underground industry is always a hard task, even if you're making games about a little cute yellow rubber duck.

(11-25-2010 06:42 PM)Skaruts Wrote: I believe the sales problem is due to no more than the sole fact that their name wasn't that big yet, and their advertising possibilities being limited. Tho I may be wrong. There are surely many people who didn't play the game because it is too scary, but these same people are the ones who actualy don't fancy games that are scarier than L4D2, which has a practicaly null scary factor.

This was my point, you see.
Not having a large demographic sucks. And making "too scary" of a game can easily drive customers off, like you said.
Enjoying being scared is sort of an "acquired taste"
Example: the scariest game of 2010 besides Amnesia?
Metro 2033. And that isn't even in the same category.
As for advertising, Steam did a pretty good job of it, especially for the Halloween sale.

(09-20-2010 05:29 AM)Orlybird Wrote: I had an idea for you guys which will open up even better business for you.

Keywords: Motion Control

Secondary key: Consoles

Have you explored that universe? With the excellent physics you put in the Penumbra series and Amnesia, you could be top 10 sellers for PS3, Nintendo Wii and others motion systems!

YES, they have experimented with motion controls.

http://home.novint.com/
Penumbra is one of the star games to use this special controller, oft-said to feel more realistic and more precise than any of the motion controllers used by the current consoles. I'm not sure if it supports Amnesia (yet) but it would be a logical progression!

I think you're right. I already did. But I still believe the main factor was the unknown developer becoming known, and the limited advertising options.
Steam came two years after the release of Penumbra Overture, and it's a great thing in many ways, but those two years before may have been analogous to Philip's first journey from the boat, through the icy cold and into the hatch on the floor.

But I can't be sure of my beliefs. The important thing is that it seems is going much better for them. And that's also fortunate for us.

I thank you, for letting me buy such an awesome game. Thank you for the great fun factor and entertainment!

Soooo...I bought Penumbra Overture, loved it, bought Amnesia at a discount and now want to buy Penumbra Black Plague + Requiem at full price, will this make me up for it (for buying Amnesia at a discount - it's worth the full price 100%)?

Hehe, thank you guys, you're really awesome. I hope you won't run out of business any time soon. Love your work!